Stepping Up

Job Brings Change Of Heart

September 17, 2003|By Phillip Zegelbone Pine Crest School

Teachers. Stereotyped as perhaps the bane of any student's existence, their hard work and benevolence are often underestimated.

I, too, used to look at these almighty rulers of the blackboard realm with malevolence and disrespect. However, my summer job completely changed all of that for me, and in the process changed my outlook on the entire world.

I am your average 17-year-old high school kid, but this summer I traded my textbooks for lesson plans and chalk. I became a teacher.

I worked for Summerbridge Miami, which is based out of Ransom Everglades School. My job description entailed doing everything a teacher would normally do. I prepared tests, lab procedures and even a final exam.

What resulted was an unforgettable experience for both my students and me.

My students got a biology and chemistry teacher who was close to their age, who had the time to work with them one-on-one and who really cared about them and their future endeavors. I met students from extremely diverse backgrounds, both ethnically and financially, who taught me more about life than I had learned in all my previous 17 years of existence. Through my position as a teacher, I both gave and received knowledge on a daily basis.

At the summer's close, I felt deeply saddened by the thought of leaving my students. I was touched when they tearfully hugged me goodbye, giving me gifts wrapped in hand-decorated wrapping paper, their own creation.

I'll never forget the rudimentary designs on that wrapping paper and how much they symbolized the experience of teaching for me. They might look like just a couple of colorful squares and circles. But to me, that paper is more precious than gold. Each stroke of marker serves as a reminder that I made a difference in a child's life; that because of me, someone may grow up to be a different person.

I still have that paper, a constant reminder to never take anything, or anyone, for granted.